Spencer's At The Waterfront

An awesome dining experience!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Excellent food and service in front of the lake.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Fantastic restaurant, delicious food with nice portions. Accommodating of food allergies / intolerances. Excellent drink menu and wine list options. Enjoy a classy meal overlooking the lake!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I hadn't been to this restaurant in years because the food quality left a lot to be desired. After all this time, I decided to give it another shot on October 26, 2024, but unfortunately, it was a big disappointment. I ordered the Prime Rib Sandwich, and the first half was so dry it was almost inedible; the side salad wasn’t fresh either. The latte was even worse—honestly, I make better coffee at home. It looked like the barista attempted latte art, but it ended up as a messy blob. I won’t be coming back here again.

Parking: The staff informed me that there’s additional parking available behind the restaurant and across the street.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 2

My family and I tried Spencer's for the first time on September 15th, 2024. Atmosphere/Ambiance was amazing, and the food was unique given the more premium ingredients associated with each dish.

I highly recommend the Branzino for anyone who likes fish, and the Gnocchi for anyone who likes pasta.

For myself, I tried the gnocchi and found the dish incredibly mellow! Very soft textures but also very rich in their ingredients. When I tried the Gnocchi, Spencer's used a chive emulsion. Though it seems Spencer's likes to modify their menu every month by retaining the dishes (i.e., Gnocchi), but modifying their ingredients to present a sense of newness for returning customers!

The Branzino (I believe it is a sea bass) presents a rich flavour profile which includes a Livornese sauce. I tasted hints of olive oil, eggplant, tomatoes and many other ingredients that the staff at Spencer's could probably articulate better! Of all the dishes, the Branzino impressed me who is Chinese and likes to steam and cook my own fish at home!

The Shrimp and Scallop Spaghetti however was disappointing for 2 reasons: a) My nephew who ordered the dish was given 1 scallop and 1 jumbo shrimp (with multiple baby shrimp). I don't know but 1 scallop for a near $50 spaghetti dish that has "Scallop" in the name is cheap... just my honest opinion. I can let that go though, as the second reason was more disappointing. The dish itself was incredibly salty. We found that the pasta itself (and not the sauce) was salty which perhaps was a mistake on the chef's end. It is very reasonable to assume that everyone's salt tolerance is different, but given that my 12 year old nephew found the dish salty (which my sister and myself proceeded to agree with after trying his dish), I think that's a red flag given my nephew loves pasta and is already learning how to cook for himself...

Unfortunately, our waitress did not give us a discount on our bill which I presume is customary especially with high-end restaurants that take great pride in their food. For that alone, my final review will be 4 stars as opposed to 5. Honest mistakes such as overly salty pasta happen and that's okay with me personally. But I think compensation or at least a small discount would demonstrate that you care about your customers.

Summary:
-I Highly recommend the Gnocchi (soft, mellow, relaxing dish) and Branzino (rich flavour profile from the sauce)
-Beware of the Shrimp and Scallop Spaghetti (pasta may be salty, and you may only receive 1 scallop for a near $50 dish)
-Compensation (e.g., discounts on the bill) may not be given even if a dish is unsatisfactory to a customer

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

Very poor customer service.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Tried Spencer’s for the first time a couple weeks ago and overall it was a good dining experience. The service was outstanding, our waiter was on top of everything, made sure wine was topped up before empty. The atmosphere and views are some of the best in town, this helps justify the cost. The food was good, maybe my expectations were too high given the rest of the experience, but the food was just good, not bad, but good. I had heard this was the same CDC from Black Tree which I went to many times, specifically for gnocchi, that dish here wasn’t nearly as good as I remember. Also my crab cake to start want evenly cooked however the presentation on everything was great. If it weren’t for the outstanding service this review might go another direction however I would definitely return and try something else on their menu.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Beautiful place, very pleasant atmosphere, wonderful food, especially the Shrimp Tempura with Avocado, Orange, Chili and the New York Striploin. Congratulations to the entire team, especially the impeccable service from the waiter, who, it was my fault, didn't ask your name. Truly an unforgettable dinner and we will be back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

A waiter is great, and the starters and the main course are enjoyable too! The area of dining has large windows for a perfect view of the park and the lake.

This review is from 4 years ago. It has been edited to remove something that doesn't apply anymore.

My partner and I went to Spencer's Saturday night for drinks. The restaurant was VERY busy. The bar had a great atmosphere that seemed to flow into the whole restaurant. We were greated by Jocob! He was SO lovely. He was very personable, but also gave us our space just to enjoy our time together. He would check in every so often, but did not make us feel like he was hovering. He let us know a bit about who he was as a person (how long he had worked at Spencer’s, how much he liked it there, and where he was prior). He gave me exceptional descriptions/tasting notes of two cocktail I was torn between (I appreciated that he wasn't just reiterating the ingredients listed on the cocktail menu. I liked that he was able to described the two different drinks in his own words and gave his personal option on the difference between the two). WELL DONE JACOB! We will deffinately be returning in the future to enjoy both the restaurant and the top notch service!

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Beautiful venue, food was amazing, the obscured view of the lake front really sets the bar for the fine dining experience. Parking in front can be filled up with park goers, however there are Green P's nearby.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Everything was great...food & service

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Loved the ambiance, coziness leading to a feel good restaurant experience. We ordered couple of drinks, truffle fries which were amazing and portion size was beyond expectations. Gnocchi and salmon dishes were tasty and you can feel the freshness. All in all great experience.

They also have HALAL chicken dishes.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I love this place and have always found the food to be outstanding but on this particular occasion the venison was undercooked. That night I had a bad case of food poisoning. A few days later I brought to the attention of the management to which they replied, that “no one has ever complained about the rare venison”. I find that response to be unacceptable. The manager who also lives in Dundas insisted on making it right and dropping off a little something to compensate the situation which I appreciated but unfortunately he never did follow through with that commitment. Sad story all around

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 3

Great place for a wedding and a reception. Food was great, staff were very helpful. Parking can get tight.

Atmosphere: 4